BavarianBeatle

Platinum Pass....for 08 and 09....We plan on using the Platinum for the first time outside of Ohio next year!!! --Beatle, who now has family in PA......

Which (ironically) two weks ago today was also a walk-on.....

Call in sick!!! It's worth it. Today was awesome. We did everything we wanted to do in under three hours. And, remember, work when you're sick and use your sick days to have fun....LOL!!!! --Beatle, who is the victim of Karma and always actually gets sick shortly after taking a phony sick day........

I've never had the pleasure of ricing a coaster in snow or sleet, but would love to.... I've done the sudden downpour thing though, lots of times. I told my kids this year to run for cover when I saw that gray curtain approaching.....

It's hard to do, but if you swing your legs and your whole body, you can rock it some, but no insane flips in my experience. They have always (s)trapped me in so tight that it's almost impossible to move anything but my arms and legs.

OK.... There was this kid, about 12 years old scared to death of riding SoB for the first time.... The script went like this (after I saw my kids whispering to each other and kind of laughing and nodding): My 8 year old: There's nothing to be afraid of, I've ridden this lot's of times. My 9 year old: Except the height... My 8 year old: And the speed... My 9 year old: And it crashed 2 years ago and a bunch of people get hurt.... ME: Both of you shut up, I know what you're doing and I don't like it!!! Them: (laughing) ME: If you two keep this up, somebody is going to kick your a__ someday, and I won't blame them a bit!!! That's the story. I like your kids already! My kind of people, they are. Terpy, who has oft complained to guests in line how Cedar Fair never runs the second train on Invertigo, while Paramount Parks would have put it on by now! I had a feeling you would like that.... (I was laughing on the inside, but had to stop them. I'm sure you know why)

I have never in my life seen more bird poo on a coaster than the Raptor at CP. It looks like someone poured random buckets of white paint all over the supports. You should see the buildings in Cleveland..... Gulls and pigeons are quite messy.....

OK.... There was this kid, about 12 years old scared to death of riding SoB for the first time.... The script went like this (after I saw my kids whispering to each other and kind of laughing and nodding): My 8 year old: There's nothing to be afraid of, I've ridden this lot's of times. My 9 year old: Except the height... My 8 year old: And the speed... My 9 year old: And it crashed 2 years ago and a bunch of people get hurt.... ME: Both of you shut up, I know what you're doing and I don't like it!!! Them: (laughing) ME: If you two keep this up, somebody is going to kick your a__ someday, and I won't blame them a bit!!! That's the story.

MS is an absolute waste of trees and park space.... It has less than NO intensity or thrill factor whatsoever!!!!! I took the kids on it for the first time this year and, on their first ride the ride op said "Enjoy your ride on MS the ride that is so mean it will talk about your mother...." They both yelled at him "My mother's dead!!!".... (which she is!!). Then we went down the trim brakes that are the first drop and they both, again in unison, said "What was THAT?!?!" Followed closely by "This just sucks, Dad" And "I have told you not to use that word" etc etc etc......

I am more than willing to do that too, but my kids always jump in and do it for me.... Sometimes they have an "evil" streak though... At Tomstone Terrortory they told another (older) kid that the train came back empty because the monsters got everybody...." And I won't go into what they did to some poor kid in line for SoB......

One of the last times at KI, someone was trying to convince me that S:ROS was 100 feet taller than MF and had a straight 90 degree drop, therefore it's faster. I love the wide-eyed looks on first time riders' faces when the ride ops in the Maverick station inform the riders that they are going to be dropping "95 DEGREES! STEEPER THAN STRAIGHT DOWN!" That first one is at least close....

No way man, I didn't even start with KIC until I was in college. You have plenty of fun ahead of you. Maybe even the flexibility to do more with KI. 34 visits as of now, by the way. We're tied at 34.... We may have to try to beat you now...LOL!!!!!

Me neither!!!! 34 ki trips so far, 4 CP, 1 Holiday World, 1 Strickers Grove.

But don't lose hope if it isn't well landscaped at the beginning of the season. Remember that landscaping is a tough job during an Ohio winter.

Kind of like the people who wait in line for food for 20 minutes, then don't know what they want when its their turn.... Drives me nuts!!!

But DB may cause other lines to be somewhat shorter, which should help your chances, especially if Racer is running both sides. Or it could attract a lot more people to the park... ESPECIALLY early in the season, who would only ride D-Back once and then be in other lines. True. He needs to pick one of those colder days early in the season when it looks like rain, then get an early start on Racer while virtually everyone else heads to X Base, Action Zone and/or DB. That should allow him to get a lot of those rides in right away.

Vortex is the worst for that. You can never tell if the people are getting in line or just milling around talking to the people sitting on that wall...

I think it would be fun to take a dip in the fountains as well, but it's not permitted so I would never try it. Sponge Bob's Bikini Bottom Bash serves the same purpose.....

But DB may cause other lines to be somewhat shorter, which should help your chances, especially if Racer is running both sides.

Yes, it closes at 8 and they only use one side of The Racer which will slow you down as well.

The mosquitoes are not nearly as bad as the mayflies early in the season... If I go to the Lake Erie shore in May or June, I always make sure to take an extra jug of winshield washer fluid.

All of the workers who know our names know me as "Wyatt and David's Dad," which is as it should be!!!

I would do it in a heartbeat!!! but, alas, the children (at least one of them) get in the way....

Can't get my oldest near Skyscraper. My youngest..... I'm still trying to scare him and haven't been able to do it yet.... When asked what he wants to do when he grows up, he says stunt man!!! And I don't doubt for a minute that he's capable!!!!! He did Millie and the Voyage with his hands up the whole ride at 8 years old!! And did Slingshot at KI at 7 while laughing the whole time. Then he told me it seemed boring because he spent too much time staring at the sky!! I never should have taken him on that upside down swing ride at a local festival when he was 4..... By the end of the ride he was crying, but about a minute after we got off the ride, he said, "Let's go again, Dad!!!" I thought, "He's hooked"... But I never knew how much..... But, as you said, Skyhawk is way too short, as is Wicked Twister, IMO.... Both need about 3 or 4 more swings back and forth...

OK Terpy I'm curious, what was your favorite memory of 2008? Walking by the Royal Fountain on International Street and thinking, at the same time, of both what once was (going to the park with my first stepmother and my Dad, both no longer with us, and with any of several friends who have passed on), what is--the current season and Cedar Fair's efforts.,...and what is to come...Diamondback and whatever the future brings. As one gets older, one realizes life is a cycle. Some of my happiest times have been watching the little ones in Nick Universe...and thinking of what is to come. Terpy, philosophical of late... Wow Terpy that was deep very deep. Thank you for that post. Very phylosophical. Yes, very deep, unlike the fountains...LOL!!! But seriously, those of us who are older tend to get very sentimental this time of year when it comes to this topic.....